By Leigh Lyter EBS COLUMNIST
Throughout Big Sky, there is a shared and inherent love for the place we all call home. Primary to that is our love of all things outdoors—whether it’s fishing the Gallatin River, hiking up to Lava Lake, or sneaking in a weekend getaway of camping at Red Cliff.
The ultimate spoiler of these close to home adventures is an unplanned run in with a gift from someone’s four-legged friend, and nothing ruins our outings faster than a pile of dog poop.
Dog waste left behind not only becomes a risk to your boots and nose, but also to our water. Dog waste contains nitrogen and phosphorus, and when these nutrients enter the Gallatin River, they deplete the river of oxygen, creating a strain on fish populations and encouraging rapid algal growth. The process of excessive uptake of nutrients in our local streams can ultimately lead to a murky, smelly, and unhealthy Gallatin River. Additionally, abandoned pet waste poses a serious threat to human health, as it is a notorious carrier of pathogens and harmful bacteria.
But doesn’t poop eventually biodegrade?
A common misconception amongst dog owners is that the poop our furry-friends leave behind is simply a fertilizer; that it eventually contributes to the blooming of wildflowers or the greening of ground covers that flourish in the summers. However, your domestic pet is consuming highly nutritious food, which in turn creates waste that is high in phosphorus and nitrogen levels, which in excess create unstable conditions that allow algae blooms to cloud rivers and streams, and create an easy habitat for invasive weeds to grow. By picking up dog waste you are ensuring that those pollutants are not directly entering our waterways, or the habitat that surrounds our rivers and trails.
Some may ask, then why isn’t the waste from wild animals doing the same harm? Waste created by wild animals has a faster decomposition rate and the contents include more organic matter, which is not harmful to the environment in the same ways as a dog’s waste. Dog poop takes an excessive amount of time to decompose, allowing bacteria to accumulate, resulting in a higher transmission rate for pathogens.
Help by doing your ‘doody’ to pick up poop
Like a great environmental steward, follow the rule of “leave no trace” by carrying out all trash and waste with you when enjoying the outdoors, including that left by your pets. Be sure to have pet waste bags with you on your backcountry adventures, or make a habit of disposing of waste via catholes (a simple 6” hole does the trick!).
We also encourage you to go the extra mile: pick up other abandoned droppings while you are enjoying the outdoors, and hold your community members accountable for cleaning up after their pets. These small actions alone can aid us in our efforts to drastically decrease the nutrient load that pollutes our Gallatin.
If you’d like to help protect the Gallatin River, mark your calendar for May 16-18. The Gallatin River Task Force will partner with Big Sky Community Organization to tackle dung heaps along some of Big Sky’s most scenic and well-used trails.
Leigh Lyter is a Big Sky Watershed Corps Member serving at the Gallatin River Task Force.
